Author's Note: Wow, I seriously need to go back and fix some typos from my past chapters... No matter how many times I reread a chapter I always end up missing something. Thanks for putting up with all my errors, especially with that last one... Anyway I had to motivate myself to get back to writing...but here it is! Thank you for being so patient.

Alex woke up to the smell of something sweet and earthy. She scrunched her nose and opened her eyes. It was blurry but she saw something on her nightstand, so she grabbed her glasses and put them on.

"What's this?" she sat up. It was a bouquet of flowers wrapped in white tissue paper. The arrangement had long stems of deep purple irises and petite white moss roses. Alex blinked, confused as to who would suddenly send her flowers. But then Lucas's face popped into her mind. She gulped. She then noticed that there was a white envelope sitting next to the bouquet. Alex slowly opened it and unfolded a piece of parchment that was tucked inside. It read:

It was a pleasure meeting you yesterday.

Welcome to Hogwarts.

Yours truly,

H.D.

She looked back at the flowers again. Henry...she thought. The irises immediately brought her back to her visit to the greenhouse yesterday. Alex thought of Henry's hazel eyes, and how he had watched her lean down to smell the irises. "These must be those very same flowers." She touched one of the soft purple petals. "Henry...hmmm. Is it normal for a man, who has a girlfriend, to give flowers to other women?" she wondered aloud.

Hemingway sat up from the pillow next to her, and yawned. He meowed at her.

"Yes? Mmmm. No. Maybe not?" she looked back at her cat and sighed. She gave Hemingway a quick scratch underneath his chin.

He closed his eyes contently.

Alex felt her arms were a bit sore from yesterday. She stopped scratching and flopped down on her bed in a huff. The pain reminded her that she still needed to do one more coat of paint for her hallway.

Hemingway pawed gently at her hand. "I guess I have to get up, right?" She rolled out of bed and put on some knee length socks. "Daisy?" she called out, "Can you bring up some breakfast and coffee?"

There was a pop and Daisy curtsied, "Mistress, anything in particular?"

"Just some scones and croissants will do. Oh– and add an extra shot of espresso into my cappuccino, please."

Alex then picked up the flowers, and ran to the sink to put them in some water. She placed them in the white vase on her work desk. Afterwards she quickly set out Hemingway's breakfast, and dived right into painting.

Fifteen minutes later Daisy appeared with breakfast.

"Daisy...what time is it?" Alex called down from atop a chair.

"10:20."

"Oh shoot. Minerva!" She paused, roller in hand. Minerva did say to see her this morning. But I can't stop painting, I have to finish this. "Ah. It can wait," she said, a bit frustrated with herself.

Just then there was a tap at her widow. "Daisy can you let the owl in?"

"Yes Mistress." The elf snapped her fingers, and opened the window.

A screech owl hooted in greeting and landed on the edge of her desk.

Alex jumped down from the chair, and shuffled to the desk. She opened a drawer, rummaging for the small burlap bag full of owl treats. She gave a piece to the owl, and took the Daily Prophet. The owl circled around the room happily, then left through the window.

Alex looked at the paper, "Wow. It's Friday already?! Oh my god. Wait, that means I only have...five days left?" She felt a jolt of panic realizing how little time she had left before the first day of school. "I still have so much reading..." she whined. She put down the paper and sighed. She would have to stay up a bit later than she intended for the next few nights.

– – – – –

Hiding away in her classroom, Alex wasn't too eager to finish her reading and her class plans. So, she asked Daisy to help her move the gramophone she purchased the other day into her classroom. Alex made a mental note to find some records so she could actually play music when she had a bit of free time. After Daisy left, she picked up a book from the pile she checked out from the library.

She was fanning through an old text she found in the restricted section. She knew she should have been finishing up her reading on ART: A World History, but the cover of the old book captivated her attention. "This book has to be centuries old." The smell of old paper was so strong it tickled her nose. Her fingers ran down the gold vine pattern that was imbedded into the black leather cover. She flipped the book open skimming the first few pages for the contents. Alex paused, "What? No contents?! Well fuck you uh–" she flipped a couple pages back to the title page, "Quincy Endicott." Alex looked up at the ceiling and rolled her eyes, she wasn't going to bother going through the book now. She snapped the book close and pushed it to the corner of her desk. She took this as a sign for her to get back to her real work.

A half hour into working, there was a soft knock at her door. She looked up and saw Henry's smiling face poke through.

He tilted his head, "May I come in?"

Alex smirked, "Yes, of course you can."

"Did you like the little welcome present I sent you this morning?" he asked stepping up to her desk. He was wearing black pants and a dark green waistcoat.

"Uh-Yes." She put down her pen, "Honestly, it's what woke me up. The aroma of the flowers is quite lovely."

He smiled down at her then turned around to examine the empty classroom. "Yes. I find irises very exquisite. I'm glad you liked them." His eyes stopped on the gramophone. He pointed his thumb at it and gave her a questioning look. "Do you have any records with you?"

Alex looked down sheepishly, "Um, no. That was the one thing I forgot."

"You know, I could lend you some," Henry said eagerly. "It wouldn't be very much trouble. I am the Magical Music Professor after all."

"Okay. If you don't mind...then I won't stop you."

"Great! Now what type of music do you like?" He put a hand on her desk and leaned forward, trying to analyze her taste in music.

"I'm not too picky...classical, foreign, love ballads–"

"There you are!" interrupted a sharp voice from the doorway.

Henry and Alex turned their heads sharply to look at the newcomer.

Henry's face lit up in recognition of the man standing at the door. The man was dressed in a dark brown suit and matching waistcoat. He stepped through the door and joined Henry and Alex.

The man was tall, but not as tall as Henry, just a few inches shorter. He had a squarish shaped face, and round brown eyes. He had short curly brown hair and a short trimmed beard.

The two men hugged. Alex watched a bit confused, as they patted one another on the back and asked each other about their summer vacations. Henry interrupted the man, and grabbed his shoulder, turning him so that they both looked at Alex. "Alex, this is Joseph Fawcett." He patted the man's left shoulder. "And he teaches Ghoul Studies."

"How do you do?" asked Joseph extending his arm out.

Alex shook it briefly, "Good. I'm Alex. I'm taking over the Muggle Art position."

"Hmm. I see." He nodded looking around the classroom. "You know, for the few years I've taught here I haven't been in this classroom before, until now." He laughed.

"Same," said Henry. "Though seeing the large windows and how beautiful the light looks coming in has me wanting to come here more often. I guess we'll have to stop by and visit Alex from here on out, right Joseph?"

"Indeed," Joseph replied. He looked down to the paper work on Alex's desk. "Henry... How long have you distracting Alex?"

Henry gave a short dramatic gasp. "What? Not very long. I only just arrived here ten minutes before you."

"Yeah...sure you did. Come now, why don't we leave Alex to her work?" Joseph looked at Alex, "I'm sure you're still planning for this year's curriculum?"

Alex sighed. "You hit the nail on the head. I still have a bit of reading and planning to do."

Joseph nodded his head sympathetically.

Henry's lips turned into a small frown. "Right. I guess Joseph and I will leave you to it." The two bid farewell and walked out. But before Henry closed the door, he turned on his heel and asked, "Will I see you at dinner?"

Alex shook her head, "I'm afraid not. I'm planning on working through dinner."

"Hm. I'll be sure to stop by and see you later this evening then." He turned around and left before she could answer him back.

– – – – –

Severus took a deep breath and knocked lightly three times on the door. "Why did I even mention to Minerva I was heading up this way?" he whispered to himself. After hearing no kind of response he tried again three more times. He shifted his weight to his other foot, the weight of his potions was starting to cause a strain on his arms. Deciding he tried all he could to be polite, he clicked the door open and slowly stuck his head through.

When his eyes landed on Alex, he immediately knew why she had not called out to him. The woman was asleep at her desk. She was in a rather precarious position. Her hair was fanned across an open book, and her hands stretched out across the desk in front of her.

Severus rolled his eyes and put down the crate he was carrying on a student desk. He walked quietly up to Alex and gently nudged her shoulder.

Alex's head popped up, her eyes blinking. "I was just resting my eyes," she said being caught off guard. She turned to look at Severus, and her eyes went slightly wide, "Oh!"

Severus quirked an eyebrow.

Alex gave her head a shake and quickly flattened her hair. "Severus...what can I help you with?" She nervously pushed her glasses higher up her nose.

"I apologize if I interrupted something important," he paused, a smirk spreading across face.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I was asked by Minerva to hand you this," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of folded parchment and handed it to her.

She grabbed the paper and opened it.

"As you can see, it is a class list of who will be in your sections," he stared down at her.

"Wow, Minerva read my mind...I was going to see her today about this."

"I was also told to relay a message to you."

Alex looked up at him, "And?"

"And Minerva has told me that she would like to invite you to tea at eight o'clock tonight. She said–"

"Hold on a second," Alex put up a hand to stop him. "Wait, where's my pen?" She looked all around her desk, then spotted it by her feet on the floor. She bent down and uncapped it. Alex wrote down 8pm on the inside part of her wrist.

Severus gave her an inquisitive look. His eyes then trailed across her desk of papers where they landed on her book of anti-venoms, which he found rather intriguing. And next to the book he noticed the pile of crushed quills, his eyes went wide.

Alex noticed his look of astonishment from the corner of her eye. "Yeah...I've given up on those devil instruments," she muttered and capped her pen.

"Remind me to never lend you anything more delicate than a feather," he looked at her smugly.

"Ha. Ha. It's not my fault quills can't handle a few books. So, what were you saying Minerva told you?"

Severus blinked to recollect his thoughts, "Ehem. She said that you should only stop by if you have time, if not, then not to worry."

"Oh...okay," she said a bit relieved.

Severus turned around and grabbed his box.

Not ready for him to leave just yet, Alex thought of something quick. "Uh, Severus?"

He turned around and titled his head waiting for her to continue.

"Uh. I'm going to be staying up late tonight to get some more work done...I think I'm going to need a little bit more than caffeine to get me through the night. Do you happen to have something that could help me? Like a potion that could give me a bit more energy?" She prayed that he would take the bait and help her out.

Severus was very still. He was so still, Alex almost thought he had been hit with a stunning spell. After half a minute of silence he nodded his head toward the door. "Follow me." He began walking, "However before I can assist you I need to stop by and give Poppy this crate."

Alex quickly jumped out her seat and scurried after Severus.

– – – – –

On the way back from the infirmary Alex and Severus fell into a walking sync. He was quietly explaining to Alex the current research being done on anti-venoms in Chile. Though, in the back of his mind he was still trying to process why Alex would be interested in such a subject in the first place.

When they both finally reached the main floor, Alex spotted a short familiar figure a couple yards in front of them. She stopped, "Sorry, wait a minute Severus."

He paused beside her, and pursed his lips. He was still not happy with her addressing him by his first name.

"Filius!" Alex called out to the Charms professor. Filius gave a small jump then turned around, he waved when he saw Alex and Severus.

Alex waved back.

He quickly walked up to the two of them.

Severus tilted his head questioningly, Alex pointed at her wrist. Severus squinted his eyes and read "Meet with Filius" scribbled above her "8pm" note. He quirked an eyebrow.

Filius smiled when he reached them, "Why Alex," he nodded at her, "and Severus, good afternoon!" he nodded at Severus. "Alex, what can I help you with?"

"I've been doing some redecorating in my quarters these past few days...and I had a brilliant idea come to me. You know how much I loved looking around the Ravenclaw common room?"

Filius chuckled, "Yes, I do remember that dear."

She blushed slightly. "Well, I'm hoping you know the charm that's placed to enchant the ceiling to look like the night sky?"

She saw a small twinkle in his eyes, "I wouldn't be the charms professor for nothing, now would I?"

Alex smiled back and did a small jump in excitement. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Severus with a smug expression. "Would you mind and help me to enchant my bedroom ceiling so it looks just the same way? I'd really appreciate it. And, I wouldn't mind doing any favor you need of in return."

"Oh Alex, it is no trouble at all. No trouble at all."

"That's fantastic. Would after dinner work for you?"

"Yes, I'll stop by the...fifth floor, is it?"

"Yes the fifth floor."

She gave him a quick hug, "Oh thank you Filius. You're so sweet."

– – – – –

Alex leaned back against one of the student desks as Severus rummaged through one of his cabinets.

A minute later he held out a glass vial filled with a black liquid.

Alex reached for it, but he quickly pulled it back from her. Severus tilted his head, "I must warn you..."

She looked at him skeptically, "Yeeees?"

"I brew my endurance potions extra strong. Though you will get a lot of work done this evening, you'll feel double the amount of exhaustion when it wears off." He stared at her questioningly, "Are you prepared for that?"

"Do you always do a disclaimer before you issue someone a potion?" Alex rolled her eyes. She grabbed the glass.

Severus didn't let go.

She stared him dead in the eye and stated quietly, "Yes. I am prepared."

He let go.

She relaxed. "Thank you for this. It's very nice of you for helping me out of this predicament," she smiled.

"I am not one for flattery, especially if you think that'll get you another dose," he sniffed at her.

"Oh really?" Alex folded her arms. "Not even when it's sincere?" she asked with a glint in her eye.

Severus raised a dark brow, "Will that be all?"

"Actually...no."

He stared skeptically back at her, unsure of what she would ask next.

"Is there any chance I can borrow that article you were reading? I'm curious to learn more about that Chilean potioneer's research."

Severus sighed on the inside. "Not at the moment, no. I'm still in the middle of finishing it myself. However, when I'm done, I'll stop by and lend it to you."

She bit her bottom lip. She was happy to see that Severus was slowly opening up to her, compared to their first encounter, today had been quite successful. "Thanks." Alex nodded her leave, "I'll see you around Severus."

"Miss García," He said sternly.

"Alex! It's Alex!" she called from outside the door.

Author's Note: Take your patronus test on Pottermore! I got a black mare. I'd love to hear what you got as your patronus and what house you belong to if you feel like sharing!